Khardung La Avalanche: 5 bodies recovered, search operations continue

The bodies of five civilians have been recovered and search operation to find five other missing persons are underway in the Khardung La area of the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. Initial reports had suggested that ten people were trapped under the snow after an avalanche hit the truck on Khardung La pass at 7 am, a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) official said. The BRO pressed into service its men and machinery to rescue the passengers of the truck, who were believed to be trapped under the debris, he added.

Teams of the Army and the State Disaster Response Force have also reached the spot for the rescue operation, he said. The recovery operation is still underway. “5 bodies have been recovered so far. 10 people were trapped under snow after an avalanche occurred in Khardung La, Ladakh,” ANI said on Twitter.

#UPDATE Jammu & Kashmir: 5 bodies have been recovered so far. 10 people were trapped under snow after an avalanche occurred in Khardung La, Ladakh.

— ANI (@ANI) January 18, 2019

“We have spoken to Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Dr Jitendra Singh about the rescue operation being conducted,” an official of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Earlier on Thursday, a high alert for the avalanche was sounded by the administration following adverse weather advisory by the Met.